Raising Harry
by Nival-kenival
Summary: What would have happened if Sirius had not chased after Peter that fateful night, and instead had decided to do what was best for his family and raise Harry?
1. Chapter 1

Sirius rushed out of the front door of the house, the house which had only hours before been pristine and proper but now lay in ruins due to a now gone Dark Lord's handy work. He cursed himself for suggesting to James that Peter, not himself, should be chosen to be the secret keeper of the Potter's hiding place. He was seething, how could Peter betray them like this? How could he betray them, he was their friend and he murdered them!

Sirius was about to start up his motorbike and go after Peter when he heard an infant's cry. It wasn't just any infant, he thought turning around, it was his godson. In his rage he had forgotten about Hagrid holding little Harry, he had forgotten his responsibility to him. If he went to murder Peter now he wouldn't be doing his job of a godfather, which is what Harry needs him to be right now.

"Give him to me Hagrid, I'm his godfather I'll take care of him" He said, reaching his hands out towards Harry.

Hagrid however took a step back. "I can't do that, Dumbledore says he's to go to Lily's sister".

"Fuck what Dumbledore has to say about this, I am his godfather! His legal guardian! You know he'll be better off with me than with a muggle family!" Sirius stated seriously.

Hagrid shook his head "I can't do that".

"He needs me, I can't lose him, I'm all he has" Sirius pleaded, trying for a different approach.

"I'm sorry" Hagrid said starting to turn away from him.

"Hagrid. Give me Harry" Sirius commanded pulling his wand out of its sheath and aiming it at the half giant.

"Please don't make me do this" he whispered as the taller man turned to face him.

"Sirius, No!" Hagrid cried out as Sirius fired a stupefy at him.

Hagrid fell backwards slowly, almost as if he was in slow motion, or in a way similar to a half giant being hit by a spell that doesn't affect him but understanding the reasoning behind the spells usage, and agreeing with it but not wanting to jostle the baby he is still holding.

"Shit" Sirius cursed under his breath as the taller man stopped moving on the ground. He walked over and picked up Harry from Hagrid's arms.

"Let's go kid" He said softly as he shifted Harry so he would sit on the motorbike stably. He took off and in the distance he could hear Hagrid yelling baby tips at him while he was within ear shot.

At Sirius's apartment in London with Harry all settled in a quickly transfigured cot, transfigured out of some couch cushions, Sirius decided it would probably be a good plan to contact Remus and one, apologize for suspecting him of being the traitor, and two ask for help. The note went like this:

 _Dear Remus,_

 _First off James and Lily are dead. I'm so, so sorry I suspected you of being the traitor, it was Peter all along, I think he might have even been the one to suggest that you might be the traitor now that I think about it, but I'd like to talk that over in person. Now the most important thing I need to tell you is I need your help. I may have accidentally kidnapped Harry, please don't tell the order (they were going to put him with Petunia, Remus….._ _ **PETUNIA**_ _). Now that you can see the importance of this message please come as soon as you can! Harry needs your help too!_

 _~Padfoot ?_


	2. Chapter 2

Remus Lupin sat in a dingy hotel room, drinking his morning cup of tea and reading the daily prophet. Said magical newspaper was telling of the defeat of the Dark Lord and how his forces have scattered, the majority attempting to leave no trace of them being followers in the first place, and how this defeat was at the hands of a baby called Harry Potter, a baby who survived the killing curse, a baby who is now an orphan.

A sudden tapping at the window startled Remus out of his contemplation. He looked up to see an owl with a note tied around it's leg. Remus sighed and got up, hoping the owl was from Dumbledore, allowing him to go back to his little cottage and stop with the efforts to try and turn werewolves, who don't want to be turned thank you very much, to the order's side.

The owl flew in and landed on Remus' raised arm, he untied the letter from it's leg and held out a crust of toast to it's mouth. The owl took the toast gratefully before flying to the back of a chair and perching there, awaiting his reply.

Remus looked down at the note and started reading it. He had to read it over three times for the shock of what Sirius had done to sink in, as soon as it did however he rushed over to his suitcase and packed up all of his belongings.

He paused in his rushed packing as a thought struck him, Sirius never stated where to meet him, and knowing the order was after him he wouldn't stay in the London apartment long. Remus sighed, and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper.

 _Dear Padfoot,_

 _As much as I would love to help you, you have forgotten to tell me where you are heading or where to meet up if you wanted to keep that information disclosed until we are face to face._

 _~Remus_

He tied the note to the owl's leg and then took it to the window so it could fly to wherever Sirius was. He shook his head, a small smile growing on his face, he had sure missed his friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius picked up Harry and placed him in the baby carrier he'd strapped to his chest, before he apparated to gringotts. Once he walked into the large marble hall he walked up to his family's bank manager with a smile.

"Nagnok, what a pleasure to see you today" Sirius said bowing his head in greeting. The goblin looked down at the wizard with a quirked eyebrow.

"And what may I help you with today, Mr. Black?" He inquired. Sirius grinned at the goblin while he fished his key out of his pocket.

"I need to know if the Black family wards are still on the cottage in Southwold, as well as myself being the secret keeper of the place" Sirius asked. The goblin nodded slowly.

"It should be, as you are the secret keeper after your uncle passed away, the wards should start up again as soon as you get within their range" the goblin replied. Sirius smiled a relieved smile, before looking, once more, serious.

"I also want to blood adopt my godson" He said. The goblin looked a little taken aback by that information before nodding, and ushering them into a different room, one made for more private matters.

"By godson I assume you mean Mr. Potter?" the goblin asked as soon as the door was closed behind them. Sirius nodded and untied his cloak to reveal Harry against his chest, the goblin looked relieved and pulled out the items needed to do the ritual.

"I call upon Magic, the over seer of all, to grant Harry James Potter the right to be Sirius Orion Black's son, in all ways but conception." The goblin chanted. A green glow filled the room as Magic did her work.

The glow died down and Sirius looked at the goblin expectantly, who nodded at Sirius. Sirius smiled and kissed the top of Harry's head.

"Thank you, so very much, may the gold ever flow in your vaults" Sirius stated as he tied the cloak and left the room. The goblin shook his head amused at the retreating wizard's antics, the Blacks were always interesting customers.


	4. Chapter 4

Once Sirius arrived at the cottage in Southwold he quickly stepped across the property boundary line and sighed in relief as he felt the wards go up around him, there weren't many plus sides to being part of a family prone to madness other than the amount of wards that paranoia will pressure one to put up, making this cottage one of the safest places in the British Isles.

He slowly strolled up the little stone path, enjoying the sea breeze playing in his hair as he looked around the cottage that would hopefully become his permanent residence. The grass was long and unkempt, stretching for 10 acres before blending into the ocean. A weatherbeaten fence surrounded the property, extra protections hidden in the wooden slats.

It would be perfect for Moony and Padfoot to run around in, he thought before shaking his head sadly, that is if Remus would forgive him for his missteps.

The cottage itself could barely be described as such, if anything it is a large bungalow, with a large sweeping porch, facing out to the ocean view. It was a little old fashioned, but that wasn't unexpected considering it had been under the Black family's ownership for 60 years at least.

Sirius sighed once he reached the front door and gently hoisted Harry up out of the makeshift carrier strapped to his chest moving him to rest against his hip.

"This is home now Harry, aren't you excited?" He asked, smiling a little as Harry gurgled happily. He looked over the small one year old and quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, if we are going to live here I guess we will need to get you some thicker clothes, right little man?" He asked as Harry looked around. Sirius shook his head, chuckling as he opened the door.

Dust was the first thing he noticed, as he then proceeded to sneeze for 10 seconds while Harry looked on in confusion.

"Merlin, I guess I forgot to call the house-elves, well I'd better fix that mistake… Stompers!" He called.

With a loud, jarring crack a house-elf with abnormally large feet appeared in front of him and bowed.

"What is master Sirius wanting of Stompers?" It asked, happy to be of service.

"This house is not in livable condition, I would appreciate if you could set it up for two men and one infant as soon as possible" Sirius explained, as Stompers nodded, before the house-elf bowed and headed into the cottage to start cleaning.

Sirius stepped back from the door letting it swing shut before turning around and heading back towards the gate. He quickly put some glamours on his and Harry's faces so they would be less recognizable before adding a heating charm to Harry's glamour, just so that he wouldn't get cold. As a second thought he added a notice me not charm to help them avoid suspicion. He gave them a quick glance over before smiling and walking out of the gate.

Their trip into Diagon Alley should be quick and simple, after all who would expect to spot them in one of the most popular wizard spaces so soon after being on the run?


	5. Chapter 5

Once Sirius had apparated onto the street in front of the Leaky Cauldron he quickly tucked Harry back into the baby carrier strapped onto the front of his chest before stepping inside.

It was as dark and smoke filled as ever, a little crowded with people as they celebrated the defeat of another Dark Lord, honestly you would think two Dark Lords within 50 years of each other is too much. Sirius pushed his way through to where Tom, the innkeeper, was standing.

"Can I purchase a room for the night?" He asked, fishing his coin purse out of his pocket.

Tom gave him a brief glance over before nodding.

"It'll be 19 Galleons and 11 Sickles, I'll also need a last name for the books" The innkeeper stated, pulling out a dusty and worse for wear looking leather bound journal from behind the counter.

"Last name is Smith" Sirius stated as he handed over the specified amount. Tom shrugged accepting the name and penned it into his book as he took the coins and added them into his own pouch before grabbing a key from the back rack.

"Well then, Mr. Smith, here is your key, you are in 217. Have a great day" Tom smiled as he gave the usual goodbye spiel before turning back to the pub goers to take orders.

Sirius took the key and headed up to the room.

The room in questions was, as most real estate agents would describe, cozy, although in need of some tlc. The most surprising thing about the room however was an owl waiting on him.

Sirius gently set Harry on the floor, after casting a quick cleaning spell on it so he wouldn't get too dirty, before heading over and gingerly relieving the Owl of its burden before giving it one of the owl treats from his pocket.

The note was from Remus! He jolted to attention and then smacked his forehead with his palm, of course he couldn't come if he didn't know where he was headed to.

He quickly scribbled down the following note:

 _Dear Remus,_

 _Meet me in Diagon Alley, around noon tomorrow in front of gringotts, everything will be explained._

 _See you then!_

 _~Padfoot ?_

He read it over quickly before returning to the owl and attaching the new note to its leg. The owl took off and Sirius turned back to Harry before grinning.

"I think it's time we get you some new clothes, don't you?" He asked as he scooped the toddler up and left the room, locking it behind him.

He worked his way over to Diagon Alley and wandered down the streets, streets which a few weeks ago had been grimy and empty, now burst with colour and people. The sun had even come out to add to the experience of a spring after a long winter.

Sirius wandered down the streets until he spotted the signs for Madam Malkin's robes, before stopping. He would be expected to be shopping there for school robes and that would be weird for a toddler fitting, not to mention the fact that Harry is the heir to two noble. He regretfully turned away from the store and made his way down to Twilfitt and Tatting's, where the elites buy their robes.

He opened the door and immediately felt the gaze of his dead mother on his back, causing him to straighten up and hold his head high as he drew the eye of most of the customers in his shaggy, well worn, robe.

One of the customer service representatives tentatively walked over to him as he looked around at the other customers, making sure to keep well aways from those that he recognized.

"Welcome sir, is there anything I can help you with" The representative asked. Sirius nodded slightly, and smiled at the rep.

"I'm looking for some baby clothes, I'll need some for a one year-old, something with a little give so that they can grow into it, 2 sets of outdoor wear, 2 sets of regular and 1 set of pajamas" He said, all the while keeping an eye on other customers.

The representative nodded, writing down the information on a piece of parchment.

"And do you have the measurements of the child or will you bring them here to be measured? So that we can get the best fit" The rep inquired.

Sirius tilted his head, after all it seemed safe enough.

"I have the child with me if you would like to take us to a fitting room" He said quietly.

The representative led the way to a small closed off fitting room and Sirius removed the cloak that was hiding Harry's presence and lifted him up, so that he could be measured.

Harry, however, did not appreciate this, and started squirming, letting out mild noises of discontent. Sirius shushed him softly as the tailor continued measuring, leading Harry to start crying by the time the tailor had finished.

"Shhhhh, it's okay Harry, it's okay" Sirius hummed as he patted the little boy on the back, trying to calm him down.

The door to the fitting room opened and Sirius whirled around to face the intruder.

"I know your mother never taught you anything but you should know that's not how you calm a baby Sirius" said a very familiar voice.


End file.
